IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/agrhuv/v39y2022i4d10.1007_s10460-022-10339-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Negotiating agricultural change in the Midwestern US: seeking compatibility between farmer narratives of efficiency and legacy

Author

Listed:
  • Nathan J. Shipley

    (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

  • William P. Stewart

    (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

  • Carena J. Riper

    (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Abstract

Agroecosystems in the Midwestern United States are undergoing changes that pressure farmers to adapt their farming practices. Because farmers decide what practices to implement on their land, there are needs to understand how they adapt to competing demands of changes in global markets, technology, farm sizes, and decreasing rural populations. Increased understanding of farmer decision-making can also inform agricultural policy in ways that encourage farmer adoption of sustainable practices. In this research we adopt a grounded view of farmers by interpreting their decision-making through their stories of everyday life. We use a narrative analysis to identify recurrent themes that characterize farmer decisions as active negotiations between the demands of efficiency in maximizing crop yields with a desire to steward land through past, present, and future generations. Together these narratives portray farmer decisions as a place-making process that seeks compatibility among distinct aspirations for their land.

Suggested Citation

  • Nathan J. Shipley & William P. Stewart & Carena J. Riper, 2022. "Negotiating agricultural change in the Midwestern US: seeking compatibility between farmer narratives of efficiency and legacy," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1465-1476, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:39:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s10460-022-10339-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-022-10339-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10460-022-10339-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10460-022-10339-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peterson, Hikaru Hanawa & Barkley, Andrew P. & Chacon-Cascante, Adriana & Kastens, Terry L., 2012. "The Motivation for Organic Grain Farming in the United States: Profits, Lifestyle, or the Environment?," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 44(2), pages 1-19, May.
    2. Adam Reimer & Aaron Thompson & Linda Prokopy, 2012. "The multi-dimensional nature of environmental attitudes among farmers in Indiana: implications for conservation adoption," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(1), pages 29-40, March.
    3. Yuki Yoshida & Courtney G. Flint & Mallory K. Dolan, 2018. "Farming between love and money: US Midwestern farmers’ human–nature relationships and impacts on watershed conservation," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 61(5-6), pages 1033-1050, May.
    4. Robert Ryan & Donna Erickson & Raymond De Young, 2003. "Farmers' Motivations for Adopting Conservation Practices along Riparian Zones in a Mid-western Agricultural Watershed," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(1), pages 19-37.
    5. Minh Ngo & Michael Brklacich, 2014. "New farmers’ efforts to create a sense of place in rural communities: insights from southern Ontario, Canada," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(1), pages 53-67, March.
    6. Key, Nigel, 2019. "Farm size and productivity growth in the United States Corn Belt," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 186-195.
    7. Elizabeth R. Schwab & Robyn S. Wilson & Margaret M. Kalcic, 2021. "Exploring the mechanisms behind farmers’ perceptions of nutrient loss risk," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(3), pages 839-850, September.
    8. Stuart, D. & Denny, R.C.H. & Houser, M. & Reimer, A.P. & Marquart-Pyatt, S., 2018. "Farmer selection of sources of information for nitrogen management in the US Midwest: Implications for environmental programs," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 289-297.
    9. Jean McGuire & Lois Morton & Alicia Cast, 2013. "Reconstructing the good farmer identity: shifts in farmer identities and farm management practices to improve water quality," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(1), pages 57-69, March.
    10. Linda S. Prokopy & Benjamin M. Gramig & Alisha Bower & Sarah P. Church & Brenna Ellison & Philip W. Gassman & Ken Genskow & Douglas Gucker & Steve G. Hallett & Jason Hill & Natalie Hunt & Kris A. John, 2020. "The urgency of transforming the Midwestern U.S. landscape into more than corn and soybean," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 537-539, September.
    11. Bigelow, Daniel & Borchers, Allison & Hubbs, Todd, 2016. "U.S. Farmland Ownership, Tenure, and Transfer," Economic Information Bulletin 262138, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    12. Anthony King, 2017. "Technology: The Future of Agriculture," Nature, Nature, vol. 544(7651), pages 21-23, April.
    13. Mario Polèse & Richard Shearmur, 2006. "Why some regions will decline: A Canadian case study with thoughts on local development strategies," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 85(1), pages 23-46, March.
    14. Shipley, Nathan J. & Johnson, Dana N. & van Riper, Carena J. & Stewart, William P. & Chu, Maria L. & Suski, Cory D. & Stein, Jeffrey A. & Shew, Justin J., 2020. "A deliberative research approach to valuing agro-ecosystem services in a worked landscape," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. John Strauser & William P. Stewart, 2024. "Moving beyond production: community narratives for good farming," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 41(3), pages 1195-1210, September.
    2. John Strauser & William P. Stewart, 2023. "Landscape Performance: Farmer Interactions across Spatial Scales," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-19, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Matthew Houser, 2022. "Does adopting a nitrogen best management practice reduce nitrogen fertilizer rates?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(1), pages 79-94, March.
    2. Kristina Beethem & Sandra T. Marquart-Pyatt & Jennifer Lai & Tian Guo, 2023. "Navigating the information landscape: public and private information source access by midwest farmers," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(3), pages 1117-1135, September.
    3. Lucie Newsome, 2021. "Disrupted gender roles in Australian agriculture: first generation female farmers’ construction of farming identity," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(3), pages 803-814, September.
    4. Lijing Gao & J. Arbuckle, 2022. "Examining farmers’ adoption of nutrient management best management practices: a social cognitive framework," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(2), pages 535-553, June.
    5. Yoder, Landon & Houser, Matthew & Bruce, Analena & Sullivan, Abigail & Farmer, James, 2021. "Are climate risks encouraging cover crop adoption among farmers in the southern Wabash River Basin?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    6. Mäntymaa, Erkki & Pouta, Eija & Hiedanpää, Juha, 2021. "Forest owners' interest in participation and their compensation claims in voluntary landscape value trading: The case of wind power parks in Finland," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    7. Gabrielle E. Roesch-McNally & J. Gordon Arbuckle & John Charles Tyndall, 2017. "What would farmers do? Adaptation intentions under a Corn Belt climate change scenario," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(2), pages 333-346, June.
    8. Aaron Thompson & Adam Reimer & Linda Prokopy, 2015. "Farmers’ views of the environment: the influence of competing attitude frames on landscape conservation efforts," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(3), pages 385-399, September.
    9. Dru Montri & Kimberly Chung & Bridget Behe, 2021. "Farmer perspectives on farmers markets in low-income urban areas: a case study in three Michigan cities," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(1), pages 1-14, February.
    10. Patrick Baur, 2020. "When farmers are pulled in too many directions: comparing institutional drivers of food safety and environmental sustainability in California agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(4), pages 1175-1194, December.
    11. Xingping Cao & Zeyuan Luo & Manli He & Yan Liu & Junlin Qiu, 2021. "Does the Self-Identity of Chinese Farmers in Rural Tourism Destinations Affect Their Land-Responsibility Behaviour Intention? The Mediating Effect of Multifunction Agriculture Perception," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-14, July.
    12. Braito, Michael & Leonhardt, Heidi & Penker, Marianne & Schauppenlehner-Kloyber, Elisabeth & Thaler, Georg & Flint, Courtney G., 2020. "The plurality of farmers’ views on soil management calls for a policy mix," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    13. Thompson, Nathanael M. & Reeling, Carson J. & Fleckenstein, Michelle R. & Prokopy, Linda S. & Armstrong, Shalamar D., 2021. "Examining intensity of conservation practice adoption: Evidence from cover crop use on U.S. Midwest farms," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    14. Alison Kennedy & Jessie Adams & Jeremy Dwyer & Muhammad Aziz Rahman & Susan Brumby, 2020. "Suicide in Rural Australia: Are Farming-Related Suicides Different?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-13, March.
    15. David Doloreux & David Rangdrol & Émilie Dionne, 2010. "Francophone Minority Economic Development in Canada: Addressing Political or Economic Issues?," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 24(2), pages 143-153, May.
    16. Ouellet, F. & Mundler, P. & Dupras, J. & Ruiz, J., 2020. "“Community developed and farmer delivered.” An analysis of the spatial and relational proximities of the Alternative Land Use Services program in Ontario," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    17. Erik Nelson & Virginia Matzek, 2016. "Carbon Credits Compete Poorly With Agricultural Commodities In An Optimized Model Of Land Use In Northern California," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 7(04), pages 1-24, November.
    18. Yaoyao Wang & Yuanpei Kuang, 2023. "Evaluation, Regional Disparities and Driving Mechanisms of High-Quality Agricultural Development in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-20, April.
    19. Beatrice Dingha & Leah Sandler & Arnab Bhowmik & Clement Akotsen-Mensah & Louis Jackai & Kevin Gibson & Ronald Turco, 2019. "Industrial Hemp Knowledge and Interest among North Carolina Organic Farmers in the United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, May.
    20. Ryschawy, Julie & Tiffany, Sara & Gaudin, Amélie & Niles, Meredith T. & Garrett, Rachael D., 2021. "Moving niche agroecological initiatives to the mainstream: A case-study of sheep-vineyard integration in California," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:39:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s10460-022-10339-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.